HAPPY HOLIDAYS

What an amazing time of year. I know that it also brings a certain amount of stress… trying to find the right present, braving the hoards of people in stores, fixing the Christmas lights
for the 8th time because they keep breaking.
But there is nothing more beautiful than soft falling snow, the shroud of peace that it brings, a simply decorated Christmas Tree and knowing that the Savior lives and loves me. That is the peace that I am striving for this season.

ALLEN: Change is not a word necessarily in Allen vocabulary or part of his life. He likes things ste4ady and straight and doesn’t like too much variance. Allen is working for Teleperformance and managing his team here in the U.S., India. They have been making transitions with the Canadian team. In fact as I sit here and type on this December evening, Allen is on an airplane headed to India to help facilitate this transition. I am trying to keep in the for front of my mind that we will be home for Christmas and not worry or be upset that he is gone during the holidays. I have to be thankful that he is employed and that this is part of him having a job. We did go hunting this year and I truly believe that it was a blessing from above for us to be able to go. We needed the break and to take the time to enjoy being together as a family and to go camping. Allen did succeed in getting game this year, but had a blast being there. Allen’s one goal for the fall was to be able to have us park in our garage this year and not out in the snow. I was so impressed with his drive on this project. He built many shelves in our garage to add some storage for our stuff that has no home yet. AND he is the proud father of a clean garage that both our cars can park in. It has been SO nice! He is now making lists of what needs to be accomplished in the house again since the weather has turned cold. Hopefully we will be able to capitalize on those projects.

JENNIE: I am working for the Utah State Office of Education as the Elementary Math Assessment Specialist and have taken on many other roles there as well. I work with some of the most amazing people! I am certainly blessed to have the opportunity that I do. My year has been full of work, travel, and playing with my kids. My travels have continued this year with trips to Orlando, Savannah GA, and again to Atlanta. I will be going BACK to school again this January to finish my Administration Certificate. No time is an easy time to do it and the longer I wait the harder it will become, so I am just trying to keep my eye on the prize and get it done. I am not looking forward to homework AGAIN! I have also taken time to focus on some things I enjoy, like perfecting my cinnamon roll and Apple Pie recipe. Hmmmmm I need to make another pie! Allen told me no cooking while he is gone, funny thing is, that is what I crave doing while he is gone.

JUSTYN: Well Justyn has surpassed my shoulders and is now working on taking it to the top of my head and he has now passed me in shoe sizes. He is so tall. Justyn had a great year. He has played Jr. Jazz and excelled in his skills. He played baseball again and made the All-Star team. It was so much fun to watch him play and succeed and have the opportunity to play at a higher more competitive level of baseball. His team even made it to the state tournament this year! He has been a great student and is excelling in math and science. He just won his class Geography Bee and will be participating in the school bee next week. Justyn all had the pleasure of finally having a broken bone. I can’t believe that we have gone this long without having on. He broke his wrist this summer riding his motorcycle. He had to have a cast 2 times for it to heal. To top it off, we just found out last night that he broke his left arm now. He was playing at school and one of his friends fell on it. We are waiting to get yet another cast. He is becoming a wonderful young man. He still enjoys taking care of his brother and they are great buddies. Justyn is becoming quite the accomplished cook. Allen has been teaching him how to make several different dishes. His new favorite is Yorkshire Pudding.

JAYSON: Oh my 3 year old!! I think that we have hit the terrible twos over the last few months. WOW! Jayson is growing fast, too fast. He talks up a storm and comprehends so many things. He is learning and growing. He loves his new daycare and is having the opportunity to go and do some fun activities. He loves playing with cars and reading. He is also becoming quite the little athlete too. He loves noodles and crackers. He also loves fresh fruit and vegetables. Our next adventure is potty training. He is digging in his heals and rearing his ugly stubbornness, but I am determined to get this done. Jayson is also a loyal Cougar fan. He went to several games with us this year and know exactly what to do when the fight song starts playing. It has been fun to watch him get excited for a game. He is still my cuddle buddy and our climbing monkey. If he can’t reach it, he will find a way to get there.

Once again, we are so grateful to have you in our lives, for your love and kindness. We are grateful to our Father in Heaven for all of his blessings and the guidance he had given to us this last year. We hope you each feel of His love this year and express you gratitude and love to Him and those around you. May you have a beautiful holiday season with those you love!